Automobile-accelerator pedal.



B. D. ADAMS.

AUTOMOBILE ACCELERATOR PEDAL.

APPLICATION FILED 001.13. 1913.

1,203,955. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

III/I/IIII/I/I BENJAMIN D. ADAMS, OF GALESBURG, ILLINOIS.

it AUTOMOBILE-ACCELERATOR PEDAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

Application filed October 13, 1913. Serial No. 794,840.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN D. ADAMS,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Galesburg, in thecounty of Knox and State of Illinois, have invented a new and usefulAutomobile-Accelerator Pedal.

My invention relates to pedals for automobiles, and particularly tothose for actuatlng the accelerator stem.

In all accelerator-actuating devices which have come under myobservation the footpiece connection has been a direct or constant one.This is objectionable, in that one of the drivers feet rests, as a rule,(when the machine is in motion,) upon the accelerator stem or someattachment thereto, and that when an obstruction is struck, or when fromany other cause a sudden shock occurs, the involuntary but naturalinclination of the driver is to save himself from d1splac ement from hisseat, and in doing this he Wlll bear upon said stem and thereby causethe engine to increase its speed and the car to consequently leapforward-and thls at the very instant upon which it should be movingslowly. This sudden" lurch of the car is not only injurious thereto, butalso it fr'e-" quently causes the occupants to be violently thrown aboutand seriously injured.

To the end of obviatin these objectionable features one object 0% myinvention is to provide a pedal, the arrangement of which with relationto the accelerator stem and the car floor is such that when a sudden eashock occurs the drivers foot will not have Ache tendency abovedescribed, but will, on fii 'the contrary, be inclined to force the heel-of the pedal into contact with the car floor and hold the toe portionthereof out of conac tact with the accelerator stem. I 4

In connection with the said object a correlated one is to provide acentrally hinged or pivoted foot-pedal which not only may be veryquickly operated when required but which provides a secure seat for thefoot.

A further object is to provide means whereby a plurality of adjustmentsmay be made, not only for the purpose of adapting it to drivers ofvarious sizes, but also whereby it may be readily adapted to cars varyinin structure.

To t ese ends the principal object of the invention is to generallyincrease the utility, efficiency and convenience of devices of th scharacter and in a measure to insure safety in the operationof the car.

reference character, uniformly The invention therefore consists in thenovel structural features and in the arrangements and combinations ofelements hereinafter described. A preferred embodiment thereof isillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which the several elementsare each designated by a distinguishing employed throughout thedifferent views.

In said drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a longitudinal,central section: partly broken away, taken in the plane of the line 22in Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a bottom plan, partly broken away; Fig. 4, atransverse sectional detail, partly in elevation, taken in the line 4-4.in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5, a longitudinal sectional detail, taken in theline 5-5 in Fig. 3.

2 designates a fragment of an automobile floor provided with an openingfor the free passage of an accelerator stem 3, the upper end portiononly of which is shown. It will of course be understood that the stem 3may be of any desired character and connected to any preferredaccelerator. I

4 designates a substantially U-shaped floor-bracket the base of which isprovided with longitudinally arranged slots 6 and the arms of which areprovided each with a double series of perforations 7 8. Bolts 9 passthrough the floor 2 and through slots 6 and are engaged each by a nut10, whereby said bracket may be looked after it has been moved to thedesired position by sliding it forward or back on said bolts.

11 indicates an inverted U-shaped pedalsupporting bracket, adapted forselective longitudinal engagements on and with reference to thefoot-plate 12 by means of bolts 13 which pass through holes in the baseof -the,former and through longitudinally arranged slots 14 in thelatter.

18, 18 designate securing nuts.

Each arm of the bracket 11 is provided with a double series ofperforations 15. 16 is a hinge-pin, adapted for engagement with anycorresponding pair of said perforations 25, the latterslidable in theslot 21. 26, 26 designate a pair of guide lugs fixed on the under sideof the shelf 20 and in which vnisms the heel plate may be adjustedlongitudinally with reference to the abutment 19. The tongue 25 willprevent the rear portion of the plate 23 from rising or fallv ingmovements (especially when the latter is in its rearmost position) whenpressure is brought to bear upon it.

The parts supported on and above the hinge-pin constitute the pedal.

It will be evident that the brackets 4 and 11 are adjustable relativelyto each other, in order to regulate the height of the pedal; that thebracket 4 is adjustable longitudinally with reference to the acceleratorstem; that the brackets 4 and 11 are adjustable longitudina ly on eachother; that the bracket 11 is adjustable longitudinally with referenceto the foot plate; that the heelplate is adjustable with reference tothe abutment 19; and that the flange 24 and said abutment afford meanswhereby the driver may effectively control the pedal.

The involuntary movement of the driver to retain his position when ashock occurs is almost invariably attended by a stiffening of themuscles and a consequent straightening of the leg. This movement willbring the heel down to depress the plate 23 until it strikes the floor2, the fore end of the plate being consequently elevated and out ofpossible contact with the stem 3. The complete attention of the driveris thus diverted from the accelerator and may be directed to governingthe other foot and hand levers.

While I have shown and described my improvements in connection with anaccelerator stem, it will be understood that they are adapted for use"with any footpedal actuated device.

' It has not been thought necessary or best to encumber thisspecification and the accompanying drawings with descriptions andillustrations of modifications which are neither essential to nor formany part of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent without suchthat numerous changes may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, viewed in itsbroadest aspect. All this will be indicated in the claim hereof, whereinthe omission of reference to the detail features of the elements recitedis intended to be a formal declaration able with respect to the element,a bracket pivotally connected with the mounting, a foot plate havinglongit dinally adjustable connection with the bracet and having itsforward portion normally overlying the element, and a heel plateadjustably connected to the foot plate beyond the pivotal connectionwith relation to the element, the mounting of the heel plate togetherwith the latter normally maintaining the pedal in position to space itsoperative end from the element.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand this 6th day of October,1913.

BENJAMIN D. ADAMS. Witnesses:

O. L. OGDEN, WEBB A. HERLOCKER.

